Second Battery Needed to Run Fridge?

I'm curious... I just bought a portable fridge for camping/road trips, and am wondering if a second battery would be the best bet for running a fridge, and a possible air inflater/deflater in the future and aux lighting?

 

The short answer is yes. You do not want to run your fridge off your starting battery. I built a cheap and very simple dual battery setup around a PAC500 relay/isolator. It isolates your house battery (the one you want to run your fridge and compressor, etc, on) from the starting battery when the truck is turned off. Once you start the truck, it runs them together so the alternator charges both at the same time.

Detailed writeup here. My truck is a 2nd gen, so that may change where you tap into an existing fuse given that yours is different. The rest of the wiring would apply directly.

 

Thank you for your feedback and information.

 

I'm not an electrical wizard, so bear with me here... But what about running a solar backed setup for the fridge off the single battery? I've been eyeing this 100W hood panel with the 10A charge controller. I'd like to avoid having to a dual battery if possible. I mean, I currently run the fridge off the main battery via the cig lighter. So if I run the fridge straight power straight off the charge controller accessory connection, rather than the battery, is this any better? I mean, seems somewhat better to me.

Obviously have to consider the amp draw of the actual fridge etc that you want to run off the controller. The fridge I have says standard power consumption is 0.87 amps/hour (37.4F internal temp, 78-87F ambient temp). That current draw seems to me could be pretty manageable from a 100W/10A solar. I mean, obviously would suck if the sun isn't out (like at night) so you'd still want it tied in to the battery.

Just my thoughts. I'd like to keep cost down and minimize complexity in my electrical system, but I want to have solar.

So maybe this could work? Perhaps I'm missing something though...?

https://www.lensunsolar.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=87_84_88&product_id=613

 

I just use a jackery to run mine. I plug into the truck when driving and when the truck is off use the jackery

 

I run the fridge when I am driving, but I understand it takes too much power to run while the truck is off--and using the starting battery is too much strain on the starter battery. I think I need more than 100 watts of solar to power the fridge--as it's dual zone freezer/fridge. I could be wrong. This is why I was exploring the second battery option. There is room under the hood on the passenger side to install a second battery--I saw a video of someone who did it, so I wouldn't have to run cabling to the bed. Something to explore. Thank you for your input.

 

If you plan on keeping your fridge in the vehicle year-round, the 100w panel won’t be enough during the winter (assuming you live in a warmer climate)

 

What fridge/freezer do you have? You can determine the power requirements by looking at the specs.

 

I have a Bodega Fridge/Freezer from Amazon. Link below--

BODEGACOOLER 12 Volt Car Refrigerator, RV Car Fridge Dual Zone WIFI APP Control, Portable Freezer, 48 Quart (45L) -4℉-68 Car Cooler 12/24V DC and 100-240V AC for RV, Outdoor, Camping and Travel

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KD58D8R?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

I run a 55qt fridge in my GX 24/7 with just an AGM battery and a 100w solar panel. Once the fridge has cooled down, it is very efficient and uses little power. I have a Noco Boost for insurance.
A dual battery system with DC-DC charger and isolator would work fine and a solar panel could be added later if you wanted to.

 

This tells you what you need to know:



What it doesn’t tell you is how frequently it draws that load. And that will depend on the ambient temperature, what’s in the unit, and how frequently the lid is opened to access the food/drinks inside.

 

Will the solar panel keep up if you’re in and out of it frequently, like if it’s your drink cooler?

 

The Lensun Solar panel on the hood

Yes within reason. Keeping more cold drinks and stuff in it helps retain the temp. Adding a bunch of drinks will make it run more although mine only pulls ~65w when on high. ECO is 35-45w. There are a lot of other contributing factors. Ambient temps, insulating cover, etc. I recommend an insulating cover.
Edit: The solar panel will allow extended parking time such as the airport for travel.

 

That refrigerator can only handle an environment of up to 110 degrees? The inside of a vehicle here can be 160+.

 

I live in Louisiana and haven’t had any issues yet but do recommend venting the cabin.

 

Wouldn't matter. Just the outside temperature exceeds 110 degrees for months at a time anyway.

Would need an air conditioned box to put my refrigerator inside of..

 

Great information... thanks!

The reason I ask is that I camp off grid in my travel trailer a lot in the summer (in New England, so mild compared to LA, TX, AZ). I have a 200 watt solar array and two golf cart batteries for electric power -- which is way overkill for my needs. The fridge/freezer runs off propane and that easily handles all my food. But I keep a cooler with ice outside for drinks. I've been considering a Yeti (or similar) so I don't need to replenish ice so frequently. But for about the same price as a Yeti, it appears I could get one of these fridge/coolers and eliminate the need for ice altogether. I'm already generating way more power than I need... one of these would allow me to cool my beer with the sun!!!

 

What brand/size do you have? What's ECO?

The Bodega brand linked to earlier says "Rated Power Input: 90 watts". I wonder if that's a nominal max rating, or a max draw when running?

 

I looked yesterday and mine is the Iceco JP50 53 qt. Max cooling is 55w, ECO Mode is 35w. Max ambient temperature is 131f.
https://icecofreezer.com/products/iceco-jp50-portable-fridge

 

I would never run dual batteries. I’ve seen so many dual battery systems fail over the years and leave vehicles stranded. If you are set on running a fridge, which is pretty dumb in the first place, use a stand alone battery (jackery) and a good AGM primary battery such as a Group 31 Odyssey.

I have a 50qt ARB, just had to have one, and now it sits in the garage and I use the trusty 8 year old Yeti.

 

I personally run the fridge off of a jackery with the solar generator being plugged into the truck. Fridge stays on and I don't have to worry about draining power. I do however run an odyssey extreme battery.

I'll say this... evaluate how often you're camping, how many days per trip, and really important to the setup I run...how much are you driving between campsites. We typically don't camp same site two nights consecutively. With ample driving I'm able to charge up my solar generator and allow it to run the fridge with power to spare from setting up camp until morning. If you're parking the rig for the weekend I do not recommend my setup. Also, I don't run a fridge full time and it's relatively easy to remove everything going back to every day life.

Pro tip: Freeze a couple of water bottles and place them in the fridge so it doesn't have to work so hard. Also chill the fridge prior to your trip so everything stays cold and isn't drawing excess power right away.

 

Wanna sale it? Lol

 

A lot of vitriol in your comment. I think there's plenty to expand upon in your experience or what you've seen with dual battery systems. Were they using an isolator? What type? Did they use a voltage booster? Does their vehicle have a smart alternator? Were they using the right size gauge wiring and correct fuses? Your comment raises more questions than it answers. IMO, they fail because the install was done wrong with the wrong components. Dual battery system have gotten a lot smarter in the past few years. Yeah in the past all there was were dumb systems like simple isolators. Nowadays, there are some very advanced systems out there they have proven themselves. Redarc and National Luna both make a great product that are extremely reliable. I ran a Blue Sea ML-ACR for 5 years linking two Northstar Group 35 AGM batteries together without fail. In every instance where my aux battery was drained my starting battery was isolated. Honestly, it sounds like you seen a lot of people DIY their own dual battery systems incorrectly which lead to failure. And really anyone running a fridge or dual battery system should carry a lithium jump pack anyways in case something happens so that you are never stranded.

As far as the fridge vs cooler comment goes, I switched to a fridge a few years ago and never looked back. I don't use a dual battery system anymore only because I prefer a more simple setup now and enjoy having a clean engine bay along with the cost involved with doing a dual battery system correctly. I now use a portable solar generator like a Jackery and charge it while driving using the in-vehicle 12v plug. Works well enough for me and I can augment with a solar panel if need be. My coolers, other than my Yeti Hopper 12, rarely make the trip anymore since I started using a fridge. To each their own.

 

Why do you say running a fridge is dumb? It's better than stopping every day and grabbing ice, and fishing through my cooler water for food or drinks. I am running a fridge while I am driving. Not leaving it powered on when I stop overnight or at my destination.

 

Using a cooler when you have a fridge is dumb. Using a fridge on a single battery setup is really dumb.

If you only had a good dual battery setup, you could use that awesome (and expensive) fridge that just sits in your garage.

 

I literally carry jumper cables so I can jump vehicles that have on board fridges. For whatever reason many times the low voltage shut offs don’t activate. The isolators fail, solenoids fail.

I’ve seen it an many rigs. I also watch a lot of overland videos while stuck in hotels. And I’ve seen many videos with dual battery issues. Not to mention a buddy with a $1,000 Odessy dual battery setup in is RZR.

Maybe if the girl friend lets me remove one of her 3rd row seats in her 07’ sequoia, I’ll give it another try. I have a brand new ARB rack and 50qt just sitting

This is before the Sherpa Rack

 

maybe Diablo likes drinking cooler water?

 

If/ When I do pull the trigger on a fridge, I'm still packing my small honda generator along w/ a Jackery/ Bluetti type power station.
I trailer my boat and need to recharge trolling motor batteries w/ the Geny (I can re-charge the power-station at that times as well)
At night I can turn off the Geny and use the power station then repeat the whole process the next day.
The whole 'off-grid' thing is played-out IMO, and the tech is not there yet for my needs . . . good ol Honda Geny never lets me down.
I ain't getting stranded for 'style points'.

(Edit- the appeal for a small fridge for my needs is keeping perishables from spoiling, a lot of times I'm out on the water on the colorado river in 100+ heat, and have to come in before the store closes for more ice . . . kind of a buzzkill)

 

Need a second, dedicated battery, whether you top it up with the truck when it’s running, or with solar panels. You can get a portable standalone though, if you only need it for trips. I’ve got one from Dometec, others use Jackery. So you don’t have to do a permanent system under the hood or in the bed… but those setups are best if you want to run more than a ‘fridge’, lights and whatnot.

 

I made a power station for less than $200. I’ll plug the fridge into it if I stay at camp for more than a night. I’ve run a fridge off my main Odyssey for 3 years, 60+ days a year, with no issues. Still cold cranks over 1100!